A. F. (Augustus Ferryman) Mockler-Ferryman

Born in Dublin in 1856, Augustus Ferryman Mockler-Ferryman built a career in the British Army and later became known as a prolific writer. Records available online identify him as Lieutenant Colonel A. F. Mockler-Ferryman, and list him as serving with the 43rd Foot before working on the staff of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from 1893 to 1903.

His writing moved easily between practical military instruction, regimental history, travel, and fiction. Catalogs of his books include Annals of Sandhurst, Military Sketching and Reconnaissance, Up the Niger, British Nigeria, Imperial Africa, Norway, Peeps at Many Lands: Norway, Regimental War Tales, 1741–1914, The Life of a Regimental Officer During the Great War, 1793–1815, and the adventure novel The Treasure of the Tigris.

That range gives a good sense of his appeal today: he wrote with the eye of a military professional, but also with the curiosity of a traveler and storyteller. He died in 1930, leaving behind work that still attracts readers interested in imperial history, army life, and early twentieth-century travel writing.